The Extreme Searcher's Guide to Web Search Engines: A Handbook for the Serious Searcher

The availability of a lot of information on the Internet has made finding specific information a more difficult task to accomplish. Unless someone knows were to find something online they must make use of existing tools to find it. A number of elaborate search engine tools were created with this one goal in mind. Randolph Hock has written The Extreme Searcher's Guide to Web Search Engines to provide us with helpful insight into how existing search engines can be put to use to help researchers find specific information online. A number of these search engines have been around for a while and have seen much use, but time, effort, and money can be saved by becoming more familiar with the major ones and using those that will get the job done! This book covers the operation and use of major search engines such as Alta Vista, Excite, HotBot, Infoseek, Internet Sleuth, Lycos, Northern Light, WebCrawler, Yahoo, and others. Readers will find out that there are not only search engines that search the 'Net, but search engines that search multiple search engines themselves! Some of these are covered in the book as well! Readers are introduced to each search engine covered in the book. Screen shots, entry fields, and information about special functions and use are provided. They will learn how each search engine operates and how they should be put to the best possible use. They are compared with one another and the author offers his own opinion of the strengths and weaknesses of each one. Readers are left to determine which search engines are best suited for their own particular needs. An accompanying Website provides updated information at their fingertips! The book is ideally suited for professional researchers, students, businesses, and libraries. It can be read from cover-to-cover or opened up at any particular place as special needs arise. It is thoughtfully written and very readable. It will make finding information online a much easier and more enjoyable task!

It's always hard to figure out which search engine to use when you're trying to find information on the Web. Hock's book does a great job at sorting out the strengths and weaknesses of each of the major search engines, as well as providing easy-to-read documentation of features such as phrase searching and searching for personal names. I especially liked the sections on "What Happens Behind the Scenes" and "Special Options," which show where each search engine excels. Any serious Net.searcher should have this book within arm's reach.